The Grey
by spentlizard
Summary: Three vigilantes band together to wage war on crime in New York City. Though they share the same goal, their ideologies keep them from forming a true alliance. One of them wants revenge, another wants retribution, and the third is unsure of where he stands, except for the fact that he wants to do what's right. He stands on a grey line, though he can't even perceive color.


New York City, a wasteland that the three dedicate their lives to eradicating of crime. It's where they grew up, it's where they came to be, it's where they can call home.

It's also the place that took the things they care for most away from them.

Who knew that three superheroes with the same goals could be so different from one another? They were all well-known to the public, and equally slandered by both pedestrians and the media. They fight hard for what is right, up until their last breath. How is it that they are all different?

It's all a matter of perspective and where you hold your morals.

There was the oldest one of the group. Everyone knew who he was. He required no mask, no "secret identity" to hide his true self. He was a soldier, through-and-through. He was born a fighter, and, despite having no powers, would keep on fighting for as long as he could. For him, there was no "ending the war," and would continue to fight, to struggle, to kill. He was against the idea for any mercy towards his enemies, for he had shown no mercy before with the Saints after what they did. In his mind, all those that committed evil in the world had to face the consequences with their lives.

Then there was the youngest of the group. He lived his life in a completely discrete manner, choosing to wear a mask that covered all of his facial features. He was the most light-hearted and optimistic of the group. He was a kid, basically, just trying to live up to the promise he made to try to make up for a tragic mistake with the abilities fate granted him with. His main outlook on life was that he had to keep his true self hidden behind that mask, even from his allies, in order to protect what he has left to care for. Even if the odds stacked against him, he always looked at the brighter side of any situation, always trying to figure a way out and always looking for hope in those seemingly beyond redemption.

These two are nearly polar opposites of each other, whereas the third rests on that blurred, grey line; one which he cannot see, but one in which he has always stood, as opposed to the lines of black or white in which his compatriots were.

He was in-between the ages of the other two. Like the youngest, he too wore a mask, but this one would only cover half of his face. The other half would be exposed for the world to see, like the oldest. His civilian guise was well-known to the public, as well as the other persona he embraced. However, no one, except for a few, trusted individuals, knew that these two personas were one and the same. The oldest was a name that everyone knew, and they always knew exactly what he did around New York. The name he was born with is synonymous with the one he adopted in the public eye. The youngest was only known to the world as the mask they see. No one truly knew who hid under there, and even if he wasn't wearing it, nobody would ever acknowledge him as he was walking down the street, seemingly invisible to the masses.

While the oldest preferred killing and the youngest preferred letting people live, the third had not come to a conclusion as to how to best achieve his methods. Sometimes he would kill, sometimes he wouldn't. He knew he was always going to be standing on that grey line for the rest of his life. As were the oldest and youngest standing on their lines of black and white.

But the third didn't mind. Even though it was an ambiguous and difficult coarse of life he was on, he just remembered to have faith in what he was doing, and try to do what not only what _he _felt was right, but what _was _right.

The black, the white, and the grey.

The skull, the animal, and the demon.

The rough, the gentle, and the focused.

The veteran, the rookie, and the man.

The killer, the hero, and the vigilante.

The soldier, the student, and the lawman.

The dark, the light, and the shade.

Frank Castle, Peter Parker, and Matt Murdock.

The Punisher, the Spider-Man, and the Daredevil.

Justice truly is blind.


End file.
